re:WRITE  Letters From the Sky
by VanityWantsYou
Summary: Rewrite of When Sounds Become Visual, from Sasuke's POV and with different twists and turns. SasuNaru. YAOI.
1. Arabesque

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**re:WRITE - Letters From the Sky**

**Chapter One: Arabesque**

**I had posted this before, but had removed it due to lack of interest from readers. But my computer conked out on me and chapters of other stories... went poop. Fortunately, this along with a couple of other random chapters of other stories were okay, so I decided to upload this and try to work on it some more. But ONLY if I know readers like it.**

He couldn't bring himself to scream as he fell further and further, the figure at the top of the cliff just a small dot in the distance. His heart was hammering and his mind was racing a million miles a second, but he couldn't even comprehend what had just happened. All he could get a grip on was the feeling of being cold as he sliced through the air and the image of his bangs flying over his eyes, like black flames against an orange and faint pink canvas.

Pain spread through his body suddenly, water choking him. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, he felt so tired... With eyes barely open, he felt his body float upward and breach the surface. With a desparate, yet weak, breath he inhaled what he could but only coughed, a warm substance running out of his mouth. He could see the warm evening sun in the distance, lowering itself along the large body of water.

His lips moved slowly, like he wanted to say something, but no sound came out other than a gargled cough. Everything became a lot colder quickly and before he could bring himself to be afraid, his breathing came to a stop and everything started to drift away as if he were falling asleep.

_"Uchiha Sasuke."_

Eyes snapped open, meeting only darkness. There was a faint yellow glow in the distance, the only light in wherever that place was. The boy looked down at his hands, then followed up his arms and down his torso until he saw his bent knees. Bones were dislocated, huge bruises marred his pale skin, and it looked as if his ribs were trying to tear through the skin of his sunken in chest.

But there was no pain.

He lifted his head to stare at the light, but was startled to find that as soon as he moved his head, water flowed from his lips. The bitter, salty taste was horrible. Coughing and sputtering, he drew the attention of the glowing orb that slowly moved closer to him, making a 'humming' sound similar to a hummingbird.

It hovered above the child's head, then expanded and swallowed him whole.

He shut his eyes tightly so he wouldn't be blinded, his arms shooting up to cover his face.

_"Uchiha Sasuke. Your time of death was 6:17 pm; cause of death was murder by the hands of-"_

"Murder...?" the boy lowered his arms and blinked rapidly, the outline of a much larger person standing above him. "I was murdered...?"

_"As soon as you arrived here for judgment, your memories slowly started to disperse. You'll soon find that even this memory will disappear soon."_

There was movement, followed by the touch of a cold hand.

_"Judgment has been passed. Wecome to Purgatory, child."_

...

"Shukaku-san."

A cinnamon-haired male turned from where three figures were laying on the black ground, all mangled and crying out in desparation. Their distorted fingers reached out toward him, but he brushed them off as he walked away, their forms screeching painfully before dissolving into nothing. As soon as they disappeared, a single shape appeared in their place, sitting quietly while looking around at everything.

A dark-eyed boy stood at the doorway to the rounded room, watching the spirits appear and disappear with quiet curiosity. He'd known Shukaku's job was to pass judgement on incoming souls, but he'd never seen how the process worked. He'd had his own judgement passed by the man, but he could never remember it. Though, from what he could see, it was a lot less flashy than he'd imagined.

"What brings you here, Sasuke? You're usually off with that teacher of yours," Shukaku stood in front of the much smaller man, glancing back at the silent shape that soon vanished with a wave of his bare hand. His dark bown wings trembled slightly along his waist.

"I'm looking for Kyuubi-sama," the raven answered politely, watching another form appear in the same spot on the floor. "I'm supposed to receive an assignment, but I can't find him."

Shukaku pointed a slender finger in the direction of the joint room to his left, the round door open. Not a single sound came from it, but Sasuke could see a faint red hue against the pitch black walls. He nodded in his superior's direction, then made his way to the other room. He peaked around the corner and saw just the man he was looking for.

The red-head sat in a pure white chair that seemed completely out of place in the black room, a flame burning in mid-air above him. His liquid gold eyes reflected the dancing flame, but as soon as he noticed another presence in the room, the fire burnt out and was replaced with a swirling orb of wind and debris.

"Sasuke-kun," Kyuubi let his lips tug into a thin smirk. "I suppose you're here for your 'job'?"

He stood up and the chair melted into the floor. The ball of wind followed right behind Kyuubi, shifting right above the male's blood red wings and causing the fine feathers to flutter around slightly. With a flick of his wrist, a name slowly appeared on the ceiling above them; Uzumaki Naruto.

Kyuubi smiled almost knowingly.

"It's almost too coincidental that this name happened to stumble into my lap," he crooned.

"How so?" Sasuke asked, brows scrunching together. Was he supposed to know who that was?

"Ah, it's nothing. But let me give you some information on little Naruto-kun," Kyuubi slinked his way behind Sasuke and placed his tan hands on firm shoulders. He placed his lips along the shell of the boy's ear, golden eyes focused on the name written on the ceiling. "The reason you're to watch over him is because he's having an extremely difficult time right now. His mentality is very unhealthy and it's part of my job to make sure that people under my jurisdiction are happy," he smirked. "Do you understand?"

Sasuke almost wanted to glare at the being behind him. Make people happy? What a load of crap. Everyone knew that Kyuubi only blabbered on about that because he'd lose his title of Third Area Care Taker if he didn't do whatever he was assigned to do and do it with a smile.

"I understand. I'll take my leave now."

"Wait, one more thing," the male mentioned. "You might learn a thing or two while with that boy, but remember to stay focused," he grinned like a jackal.

Sasuke remained silent before he nodded and left the room.

...

It wasn't the least bit difficult finding which school Naruto went to, but it **was** pretty hard trying to figure out where he was in said school. He'd carefully meneuvered his way around the perimeter of the complex, but all of the classroom's had been empty and he didn't exactly know where else to look. He couldn't go into the school because that would obviously be blowing his cover.

While standing on a thin ledge underneath a second-story window, he looked up at the steam coming from one of the roof's metal pipes. With wings spread out, he fell forward and cut through the air before looping up to the high roof that was covered in a thin layer of metal shingles. He looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the dome-shaped building connected to the school had glass panels circling around the top.

"Hopefully, he's in there," he mumbled to himself before flying onto one of the panels and pressing his forehead against the warm glass. He could clearly see down into the spacious room that was filled with risers inhabited by restless children. They were all talking to each other, ignoring whatever presentation was going on.

His black eyes scanned over every single face, but not a one looked like Naruto's. He checked again, searching for blonde hair and blue eyes. Finally, after a couple of minutes, he found his target amongst a group that was sitting fairly close to him. They were laughing about something a female teacher had said and before he could watch any longer, those bright blue eyes that were just dancing in amusement blinked and shifted up to meet his gaze.

Leaping back, Sasuke hovered a good distance from the dome, wondering how Naruto had even noticed him up there. It wasn't as if he were moving around enough to draw his gaze. After a minute of floating there, he slowly made his way back to the glass and stared down at where Naruto had been sitting, but only found an empty seat.

"What...? Where did he go?" he questioned out loud, not too fond of losing track of his 'assignment' in the first ten minutes on duty. Flying back, he looked around and sighed when he saw a familiar mop of yellow hair exiting from the building's main doors and heading into the neighboring woods.

Flapping his wings, he shot up in the air and followed overhead along the shedding tree tops that almost seemed to shiver in the cold weather. There was a strong gust of wind and Sasuke arched his feathered appendages, letting his body bob side to side with the breeze that didn't carry him too far. He blinked back the dryness in his eyes, something he'd never became accustomed to in Purgatory. There, he'd never had to indure Earth's "weather".

He glanced down at the boy he was to watch over. The human carefully walked over a fallen tree trunk that was sticking out of a bubbling creek, his untied sneakers being placed one before the other on the narrow base. He had his arms spread out wide as if imitating a bird, a small smile on his face as he lost himself in what Sasuke's assumed was a good memory.

Memories... What did he know of those, anyhow?

Naruto hit solid ground a moment later, hoisting his school bag higher onto his shoulder and breaking into a sprint as he dug through his back pocket. There was a vine-covered fence stretching horizontally, in front of a large apartment complex that was hidden behind a bunch of thick trees that didn't stand naked in the winter. He hopped the metal barrier and ran to a freshly painted row of apartments that had a set of wooden stairs that spiraled around the back.

Sasuked flew around to the other side of the building and lowered himself to a thick branch securely hidden behind gree brush. He pushed the leaves aside with twin hands, black eyes watching the blond pull out a pair of keys that opened the door. The inside of the apartment was dull, but a dim light illuminated the space after a steady flickering. Naruto entered and a moment later, the door was shut.

Leaping from the branch, Sasuke landed on the rusted railing along the front door. He crouched down and folded his wings cross-cross across his back, his head turning toward the window that was blocked from the inside by canary-colored drapes. Red seeped into his obsidian eyes and three small symbols spun around his small pupil, building speed.

His vision became obscure, color draining away into blotches of black, white, and gray. The curtains disappeared, the glass disappered... Naruto laid in his bed, squeezing onto one of his pillows while curled up in a ball. Tears were soaking his face, his frame trembling as he whispered to himself. He continuously repeated one word, the only thing Sasuke could catch onto.

Mother.

...

It was quite easy to just sit outside of Naruto's apartment every day. He never felt the unecessary need to use the bathroom, to eat, or to sleep. He just sat back in the brush of the beautiful trees and monitered the teenager whenever he was home. Of course, when the blond would leave to go to school or to a friend's, he'd follow behind and also monitor him there. It wasn't boring; he didn't even know what that emotion truly was. When you were a "messenger" of Purgatory, you only felt barely noticeable traces of human emotions.

Sasuke sat, once again, outside of the usual apartment, red eyes watching what was going on behind the peach walls. The usual group of people Naruto associated himself with were laughing and talking in his living room. From what he could gather, Naruto seemed to be a typical class-clown, joking around and making people laugh. Unfortunately, it semeed as if that was just a ruse to hide how much he was hurting. Why he was hurting, Sasuke had no idea.

But something suddenly changed in the air of their conversation and he watched as the platinum-blonde female frowned and tightened her grip on the soda can she was sipping. Her crystal blue eyes fell to the floor, but they lifted up to Naruto's face and she threw on a fake smile immediately. The boy next to her said something, his hand on her knee.

Her lips after a moment, both her and Naruto stood up and walked to the front door.

Sasuke let his eyes bleed back to black and he leaned back against the thick tree trunk.

"What's wrong, Ino?" Naruto asked as soon as he shut the door behind them.

The girl known as Ino bit her bottom lip before sighing.

"I want you to move out of this place," she spoke directly, getting straight to the point.

Sasuke watched as Naruto's face fell and he nervously scratched at the back of his neck.

"You know I-"

"Look..." she crossed her arms, looking away. "I know how many memories this place holds for you, but you need to understand that living here is taking a toll on your health. This place might be one of the only things you have left to remind you of your dad, but... it reminds you of your mom too..."

Naruto's blue eyes softened at the look of sadness on his friend's face and Sasuke faintly wondered if it was love that he saw reflected in those orbs. He'd heard of the strong bonds that humans shared with each other and from what he could see, Naruto and Ino seemed to have a special relationship.

"Ino..."

"No, Naruto," she sounded almost desparate, her eyes watering. "You have to take anxiety pills every day because of the fear you have of your mom hitting you when you get home from school! You know that she's dead, but you're still scared to death of her! Please... it's not that hard to just move out and get a fresh start; it's what your dad would've wanted, you know? I'll just tell my parents to talk to the landlord and they'll start paying for another apartment for you somewhere else..."

Sasuke knew the look in Ino's eyes was getting to Naruto.

"...Fine. But it has to be somewhere nearby. I'm not transfering schools," he groaned.

Ino's smile was like an excited child's. She reached out and wrapped her arms around broad shoulders, burying her face into a firm chest.

"It's for the best," came her muffled words. "You've suffered so much already."

Naruto smiled and placed his hand on top of Ino's head.

Sasuke watched the interaction with blank eyes, absorbing every detail about how they behaved with each other. If he was going to introduce himself to his 'assignment' soon, he would need to know how to interact with him like a normal person so that they could get along. Kyuubi had told him once that normal people didn't like others who were different.

Naruto and Ino pulled away from their embrace and the girl smiled once again, wiping at her damp eyelashes. She laughed and grabbed his hand to tug him back inside, but for some reason, the blond didn't budge. He whispered something and before Sasuke could react, Ino was staring right in his direction.

"Huh? I don't see anything..." she punched his arm playfully. "There's nothing there, stupid. Quit trying to freak me out."

"I'm not," he laughed. "I thought I heard breathing, I'm serious!" turning toward the tree, his eyes seeming to almost stare directly at Sasuke's.

The raven stopped the breathing he hadn't realized was much too heavy, not moving an inch. He let his eyes stay firm, knowing that even though they were looking directly at each other, Naruto couldn't see him within all of the leaves and shadows. Though, something did seem to constrict inside of the angel's chest. It was something he'd never felt before, like a painful explosion of fire that swelled inside of his rib cage and slowly squirmed up his throat until the burning became so intense that he shut his eyes in order to ease himself.

...

_"You're like the moon, Sasu-nii," a smaller version of Naruto said while drawing in the sand with a thin branch. His bright blue eyes lifted from his picture and he pointed a small finger at a thinner boy dressed in all black. "You're all white and only come out in black, just like the moon!"_

_The boy in all black sat with his legs crossed, just inches away from the ocean's slow tide. _

_"Well, you're like the sun, Naru-chan," he smiled, not taking his friend's words as an insult._

_Naruto blinked and looked up at the glaring sun, its warmth embracing him in a loving hug._

_"The sun?" he repeated the other's words quietly._

_"Un," the child nodded. "You're very warm and kind, just like the light of the sun."_

_Naruto's lips pressed together tightly. He hadn't expected such an answer; it was the complete opposite of what he'd said, so he tried again._

_"W-well, the sun couldn't be without the moon, you know!" he sputtered, embarrassed._

_His friend only smiled again._

_"And the moon couldn't be without the sun."_

...

The pain slowly disappeared and Sasuke opened his eyes, wondering why such a strange scene had played out in his mind. It didn't make any sense, the sun and moon would be fine without each other... Had it been a memory? Of course not... he didn't have any memories of anything other than his birth and onwards in Purgatory. He let it slip to the back of his mind and before he could think of it again, it was gone; as if it hadn't been there in the first place.

He watched Naruto and Ino go back inside and sighed, leaning back against the tree in a relaxed position before letting red seep back into his irises.

...

Almost two weeks had gone by since Naruto and Ino's discussion and the blond had finally moved everything into his new apartment in the Nishishinbashi district of Tokyo. It was one district over from where he'd previously lived, but only an extra ten minutes away from his school if he took the train. It was a bustling place, street preformers everywhere he went and new electronic stores showcasing the newest and best technology in Japanese industry.

Sasuke had to admit, he was rather fascinated by the new surroundings. He'd gone back and forth between the new apartment and the old one a lot in the past week, but he hadn't been able to really focus on everything around him. His sensei had once explained the love Japanese humans had for innovation, creation, and design, but this was his first time truly understanding what that meant.

While Naruto had gone out with his friends to eat lunch somewhere in the city a day or two ago, Sasuke had followed atop looming buildings. He flew from rooftop to rooftop, seeing human androids standing outside of shops specifically to greet customers. They made very life-like expressions and even tied people into casual conversations about the weather or weekend plans. There were bright billboards all around him too, playing videos of famous popstars in the country or showing high quality commercials.

The only downside of where Naruto now lived was that there were no trees for refuge anywhere near the apartment complex. He'd lost his cover.

So as nightfall approached, Sasuke realized it would be best to finally approach Naruto and let his presence be known.

Standing outside of the blond's half-open window, the raven let his red eyes see what exactly his 'job' was doing. It looked like he was in the middle of unpacking his things, sitting picture frames on his new oak dresser. There was one photo that Sasuke noticed right away; one of a small child in between two smiling adults. The female had long auburn hair, her emerald eyes shining happily. One of her arms was around the gruff male to her right, while the other was wrapped around the bubbly child. The man on the left was grinning as if he'd just won the lottery, holding up the tiny had of his look-alike as if presenting him to an audience.

His parents, Sasuke assumed right away.

Naruto stopped unpacking to yawn loudly, his eyes watering as his body told him to go to bed. Not arguing with it, he stepped away from the half-empty box and stalked over to shut off the bedroom light. He flopped onto his naked mattress, not caring that there weren't any pillows or sheets there for him. He'd worry about that later.

"Careless," Sasuke muttered, concerning the open window. Though, he didn't move an inch until he was sure the boy's steady breath meant he was asleep. Holding his own breath, he lifted the window a little higher and slipped in as easily as the wind. He walked over to the side of the bed silently and watched Naruto's sleeping face.

He remembered the affectionate touches between the male and his female friend from a week or so ago and laid down in the bed, making sure not to wake Naruto up. He let his wings fall limp behind him as he ran pale fingers along long, bare arms. He watched the goosebumps rise on the dark skin and wondered idly why humans were made with such a reaction to even the simplest of touches.

He continued the gentle touches, running his fingertips along Naruto's arm, neck, and jaw. He might not have had the sharpest sense of feelings, but he couldn't help the curiosity he felt being so close to a human. He'd been alive too, once upon a time.

So with much interest, he kept on with his task, not stopping until Naruto stirred awake.

**I'm sure all of you noticed the changes I made to re:WRITE so far, such as Sasuke's ability to use his Sharingan already. I prefer him being able to use that to his advantage rather than having it suddenly appear out of nowhere near the end of the story. Also, their ages are different. They're older... for obvious reasons -cough- SEX- cough- ... wut?**


	2. Starry Sky! Remember When I Lost My Mind

**Disclaimer: If Naruto were mine, he and Sasuke would've gotten together by now.**

**re:WRITE- Letters From the Sky**

**Chapter Two: Starry Sky! Remember When I Lost my Mind?**

**Here we go, a lot more character interaction. I REALLY enjoyed writing the dialogue between Sasuke and Naruto. A snarky yet awkward Sasuke and a chipper Naruto, just what I like.**

"Mmmm... ugh, don't tell me I slept in..."

A tan hand reached out from beneath jumbled blankets, fingers grasping for his cell phone that was sitting beside an unplugged lamp. Pulling the object to the edge of the stand, he held it up and looked at the white numbers. It was almost noon.

He groaned and shifted, eyes still closed.

"Good morning."

Eyes that had been weighed down with sleep just a moment ago snapped open in a fraction of a second. Blond hair flew across a sweaty forehead, blue orbs focusing on an unknown figure standing on the other side of the room.

Sasuke could see the fear wash over his "job's" face, but he made no move to explain his presence. He remained still, dark eyes calculating every movement the boy made. He was sure Naruto was shocked beyond words. Not only was there an unknown man in his home, but there was an unknown man in his home that had wings.

He half expected the blond to get up and bolt out of the dim bedroom. But instead, he got a completely different reaction; one that made his eyebrows arch inquisitively.

"Shit, I must still be asleep..." the fear that had once been there drifted away.

_What an odd reaction, _Sasuke thought.

"I can assure you, you are awake," Sasuke replied with a stoic demeanor.

"Pft, yeah and I enjoy cosplaying as Lady Gaga on weekends."

Sasuke only stared.

"I'm in no positon to judge you. I hear she's an amazing musican," he dead-panned.

Naruto's cheeks flushed bright red.

"Y-you know, I was only joking...!"

_What an even __**more **__odd reaction, _the winged male continued mentally.

"What does it matter? I'm only a part of your dream."

Strange, was what Sasuke thought of the human in front of him. He never would've thought someone would find a situation, like the one they were in, to be a time for jokes. Of course, the blond still thought he was caught up in a whirl of dreams. He wasn't sure if he wanted to play along or not. He knew he had to keep it 'proffesional'.

"If I'm not dreaming... then what exactly are you...? An angel? Oh god, am I dead?"

Naruto looked as if he were about to go into a full-out panic attack.

Sasuke blinked slowly.

"No, you're not dead. And I am no angel," his eyes seemed to gleam.

Sasuke took a step forward, his wings shivering by his sides. He watched blue eyes fall to stare at the feathery appendages, curiosity apparent. No longer was their fear, but a deep sense of wonder and intrigue. If he moved any closer, he was sure Naruto would reach a hand out to touch him.

"So you're not a dream... and you're not an angel... Then what are you?"

The raven looked down at the boy still laying in bed, bangs obscuring his pale face.

Naruto continued:

"A demon? Maybe even a **devil**?" a pink tongue flicked over pearly white teeth. "My friend used to tell me stories of devils that would come to Earth to make contracts with humans-"

"I'm your gaurdian spirit," Sasuke ended the persistent and absurd questioning.

Suddenly, the strange atmosphere that had been there only a second ago disappeared and was replaced with a more cheerful one. Naruto sat up as quickly as he could, the thick comforters around him pooling around his waist, revealing a smooth chest and slightly toned stomach. His cerulean eyes were wide in excitement, as if he'd just been told he'd won a million dollars.

"Really?.!" he practically screeched. "If you're a spirit, can I put my hand through yo-" he squeaked when he found the fist that he'd tried to push through Sasuke's supposed 'transparent' stomach met cool flesh. He laughed nervously, eyes looking up at charcoal ones that were blank. "Um, sorry..." he pulled away.

Sasuke truly didn't know what to make of this human.

"The reason I am in your home," Sasuke continued as if nothing had happened, "is because I was assigned as your personal guardian by a higher being than myself. My job is exactly this: to make Uzumaki Naruto happy."

Naruto looked stunned for a moment.

"To make me happy...? But..."

"Reasons for unhappiness, as explained to me by said higher being, are for me to find out and help cure during my stay here."

A mouth fell open.

"So mechanical," Naruto then grinned cheekily, scratching the back of his head. "I think someone with a little more character would make me... well, **happy**."

Sasuke's face remained blank.

"I am unable to fulfill your request. It's not that I am unwilling, but that I can't."

Naruto gave him a puzzled look, but the expression passed, like most of the faces he'd made in the past few minutes. Their meeting was short, as informative as Sasuke wanted to make it, and all-in-all... it was going by smoothly. Honestly, that was something the black-winged man hadn't thought possible.

"I guess I'm stuck with... this, then," Naruto gestured to Sasuke. "Man, wait until I tell Ino about this. She'll flip her lid... Or am I supposed to keep this a secret?"

"I would prefer this to be a secret," the guardian replied smoothly.

Task one: tell Uzumaki Naruto who he really was and why he was there.

It was completed, but in a surprisingly easy and smooth manner. He'd heard many stories from his teacher and fellow guardians that the hardest part of beginning a job watching over a human was the first introduction. But from what had happened in the last ten minutes, he could only assume that that would be the easiest.

Oh, how right he was.

xxxxxxxxx

The first week had gone by smoothly.

Unlike when Sasuke had secretly watched over the male the previous weeks, these days weren't too eventful. There were no tears shed over his mother in secret, no mental breakdowns, and no fake smiles. It was as if everything before had been an act, but the guardian wasn't stupid enough to believe that option at all. He knew it wasn't an act.

"Hogosha-san, I want to go grocery shopping this evening, do you want to tag along? I never see you eat anything, so I don't exactly know what you like..."

Ah, Hogosha** (1)**, the name Naruto had been calling him since they'd met.

Naruto tapped the end of a blue ink pen against his nose, looking down at a small white paper that he was writing on. Most likely a grocery list.

"It's still strange how accepting you are of our situation," was all Sasuke muttered while flipping through television stations. He decided to leave the news on, though he found no interest in it at all.

There was a laugh from across the small apartment.

"You need to meet my friend Ino. I can tell you one thing, she and her family are the most spiritual people I've ever met, and I don't mean that in a religious way, either. I'd never been in contact with anything like you before, but from everything I'd heard from her family over the years, I knew maybe something like this would happen at some point."

Sasuke raised a brow, turning in the boy's direction.

"You knew I would be coming?"

"Well," Naruto grinned stupidly, "not exactly. I meant that I knew something 'not normal' would happen to me some day if I hung around them long enough. So... other than initial shock, I wasn't too surprised."

"Hn. I can tell you that knowing that family has nothing to do with what's happening."

Naruto pouted, an expression Sasuke smirked at.

He thought back on the platinum-blonde named Ino, and how she'd convinced Naruto to move in an attempt to help with his unhealthy habit of remembering his mother. She'd almost been in tears that day, her role as a very important person to his 'job' confirmed. A lover, maybe? But the most important thing the raven needed to look into was why his mother was such a big influence on him, not who he dated.

_His mother, _Sasuke turned to look back at the television, eyes on the scene of police cars surrounding a gas station, _What could have happened for him to be so affected by her?_

"You know, I just mean that knowing them made me more aware of things like you."

Sasuke could've scoffed.

"Things like me? You make me sound as if I were an inanimate object."

Suddenly, Naruto started scribbling something down on the paper in front of him, teeth clamped onto his lower lip as he focused on whatever it was he was furiously scribbling down. Surely the thought of inanimate objects didn't spark his memory on what to buy? Of course, with how the boy was, Sasuke couldn't completely cross off that option.

"You just reminded me to buy an extra blanket."

_How?_ the guardian mused, hand going under his chin as a rest.

"I don't need a blanket," he said. "I don't sleep."

"You... don't sleep?" Naruto sounded stunned. "Then how do you-"

"How do I sleep? I don't. I just told you that," Sasuke said bluntly.

The tan male puffed his cheeks out, obviously annoyed.

"Oi, don't be a smartass. You know, for a mostly emotionless being, you're a real ass."

Sasuke let a small smirk slip onto his lips.

"I won't get too into it now, but a guardian is born into Purgatory with the personality they had when alive. I may seem like 'an ass', but I don't have the feelings to go along with my actions. In terms you can understand, I would say that I am programmed this way. I have no reason to be this way, I just am."

Naruto folded his list and tucked it into his back pocket as he walked into the small living room, dressed in a pair of ragged jeans and a plain black polo. He looked skeptical, but shrugged and bent over the back of his pleather sofa to snatch away the silver remote Sasuke had resting beside him. He clicked the red 'off' button and the television screen went black.

"You know..." he began, looking pretty thoughtful as he fiddled with a loose string hanging from his shirt, "I don't even know your name. I've just been calling you Hogosha-san."

Sasuke pushed himself up, his wings criss-crossing along his waist. He glanced over at the long brown trench coat hanging from the metal coat rack by the door, wondering if it would completely hide his wings from pedestrians. He remembered when Naruto had yanked it out of a dusty box hidden at the top of his bedroom closet just the other day, saying he could use it so they could go out into public together.

It looked like today the worn coat would be put to use for the first time since given fresh air.

"Here," Naruto lifted it off its hook, handing it to Sasuke with a lop-sided smile.

Sasuke bowed his head before taking it and shrugging it on, the material extremely foreign against his usually naked wings. They shuddered along his body, but after a few seconds, the pressure began to become a normalcy and he slowly buttoned the front of the coat. It was then that he became aware of a gawking individual just a few steps away.

His obsidian eyes met shocking blue.

"In regards to what you were saying before," Sasuke spoke, voice smooth like silk, "I was told not to speak my name. The only one able to reveal my name is my higher up."

Naruto scrunched his nose in displeasure, but shrugged it off.

"Hogosha-san it is, then! To the market we go, Hogosha-san!" he grabbed a set of keys off a side table and opened the front door of his apartment, the sound of playing children echoing up the stairwell.

Sasuke followed Naruto down the stairs, knowing that if he could feel so, he would be rather fond of his nick name. Hogosha-san... it sounded almost god-like.

xxxxxxx

The market was definitely not what Sasuke had expected.

His teacher had told him about his past journeys into grocery stores and how they were like giant, lit boxes full of random articles humans liked to put in their homes. But the place Naruto had brought him to destroyed the image he had in his head. Completely obliterated it.

The market was a large, open place along the coast of the Pacific. People hustled and bustled down spacious gravel aisles, large bags filled with fresh fish, vegetables, and meats in their grasps. Not only was there food, but there were various vendors selling clothing and other items. They'd passed by a middle-eastern man selling beautiful procelain vases just a short while ago, and there was even a caucasion gentleman bringing in customers to buy his hand-crafted rennaisance masks.

At the moment, he and Naruto were standing in front of a cluttered booth where vegetables and fruits were being sold. The blond was grabbing various foods, asking what Sasuke thought of them, as if he'd forgotten that that raven hadn't put a single edible thing in his mouth for years.

"I don't know if I want strawberries or if I want durian fruit..."

"I've heard of strawberries, but what is a Durian?" Sasuke asked, looking down at the oddly shaped fruit in Naruto's hands. It was as big as a pumpkin he'd seen once, but was covered in multiple dull spikes. It didn't look too appealing, even to him.

Naruto let a devilish grin spread across his face.

"Man, you're missing out," he cooed. "The durian is known world-wide for it's really sweet fragrance. Wanna sniff?"

Sasuke looked down at the fruit.

"Sniff?"

"Here, could I see that for a moment?" Naruto was given a cracked open durian fruit that the vendor had been inspecting. He held it in front of him, smiling from ear to ear. "Smell it."

The raven stared down at the weird object, but then lowered his face enough to get a good wiff. Not even a second after inhaling as deeply as he could, his eyes shot wide open and they began to water, his mouth falling open to release sputtering coughs. All the while, Naruto and a couple people around them began to laugh.

"O-oh god, your face...! Ahahaha!" Naruto threw his head back, his whole frame shaking.

Sasuke wiped at his eyes with the back of his arm, scowling while he did so.

Should he feel angry? He'd been embarrassed, right?

"Naruto, you-"

"Naruto-kuuuuuun!" a shrill voice rang out through the loud crowd.

There, in the middle of the filled aisle, a pink-haired girl pushed through a foreign couple and waved to the blond, smiling happily. She looked familiar and Sasuke recognized her as one of the students that had been sitting in the gym the day he'd gone looking for Naruto at the school. She came closer and opened her mouth to say something, but her bright emerald eyes fell onto Sasuke and she stopped herself dead in her tracks.

Pink rose to her cheeks.

"Oh, um, hello," she fluttered her eyelashes, smiling coyly. "Are you a friend of Naruto-kun's?"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto ran up to her and held his hand out for a high-five, but the blushing female only glared at him and cleared her throat. "Eh...?"

"Why would you think I would do something so boyish?" she scoffed, flipping her hair over a bare shoulder.

Naruto looked baffled.

"But we give each other high-fives-" a manicured hand was slapped over his mouth.

"I would **never** do that, don't believe him," she giggled at Sasuke. "My name's Haruno Sakura," she practically purred. "I'm a senior in high school and plan on going to Kishojitsuya University. My cup size is C and I can unwrap a starburst with my tongue in under eight seconds. Naruto can vouch for me," she winked.

_How is that relevant? Do humans greet each other like that often? _Sasuke wondered.

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Hogosha-san; I'm not in school, I don't know what a cup size is, and I can do a lot of things with my tongue, but I've never tried to unwrap a... star...burst," he frowned. "Naruto can vouch for me...?" he ended, trying to match Sakura's conversational set-up.

"Uwaaaa!" Sakura's cheeks got even more red and she pointed an accusing finger at Naruto. "You never told me you swung that way!"

Naruto's face was just as red.

"I-I never did anything like **that** with him! I-I swear! Hogosha-san, tell her!"

Sasuke looked back and forth between the two, not understanding why they were so flustered. But since he didn't even understand what he'd said to Sakura anyway, he decided to take Naruto's side and apologize. He may have been equipped with the ability to speak fluent Japanese and understand the entire language... but he hadn't been taught what to do in social situations.

"Forgive me, I lied."

Sakura stared at him in disbelief.

"So weird..." she muttered.

Deciding he'd let the two talk with each other in private, Sasuke excused himself.

"I'll be around," he pardoned himself and began a steady walk down the long aisle that ended up just a short distance from the shore line. He could hear Naruto calling after him, but he continued his pace through chattering groups of people. Everyone in the market began to blur into a backdrop as he let a dark red bleed into his pitch black irises.

In a soundless, colorless world, he traveled as far as he wished, his feet taking him to a steep coastal drop that led down to a sandy beach shore, many rough rocks jutting out of the still water. Waves had been stopped in time, misty droplets frozen in mid-air. He continued walking, looking out over the vast expanse of salty water.

He looked back in the direction of the market, the large constellation of booths looking like arabian tents in the distance. In the canvas of black, he could see the one spec of color that he purposely kept lit; Naruto. It was an easy way to keep track of him.

Turning back to the path he'd decided to take, he glanced up at the high cliff top ahead. Shrugging his shoulders, he slid off his coat and let his wings loose, so he could fly to the his destination. Hanging the article of clothing over his arm, he spread his dark wings and went into a running jump, his raven hair fluttering violently around his face.

It's not that he wanted to get away from Naruto and Sakura, as much as didn't feel like he should become associated with the blossom-haired female. She seemed nice enough, but his sole purpose of being on Earth was Naruto and no one else. So he'd left them to themselves and had taken the chance to explore.

As he got closer to the cliff, he noticed two figures standing near the ledge.

He stared.

Possibly an adult male and a child? But... why were they still moving?

"How is this possible?" he questioned aloud, frowning.

He swooped lower, trying to get a better look at the two people who seemed to be defying the laws of his ability. Nothing should've been able to override his technique, for the exception of Kyuubi and Shukaku. Wings arching, he slowed down and watched as the much taller human lifted up the small child by the neck.

That scene made a strange sensation seep up from the guardian's stomach, into his chest, and into his throat. It felt like nothing he'd ever felt before, like his insides were being torn apart; and for the first time since being born into Purgatory, he felt what humans called pain. It was excrutiating and everything began to fade in and out, colors swirling around like a whirlpool of paint.

He could feel his body arch backwards, but that action wasn't under his control at all.

"A-aughh...!" he heard himself shout in pain, but it sounded outside of himself.

The sound of the rumbling ocean filled his fading world and the feeling of his body slicing through air chilled his usually unfeeling skin. What was happening to him? He felt like he'd been set on fire. His body was feeling sensations it'd never felt before, and he felt... what could he call it?

Panic?

**FEAR?**

xxxxxxx

_"You're a demon!" a dark-haired man yelled, his voice breaking._

xxxxxxxx

"Who is... that...?" Sasuke was finally able to see, blurs and shapes morphing into the real picture of the world, rising waves coming closer and closer to him. He swallowed deeply and tried to take control of his wings, the appendages flapping wildly before creating rounded arches that kept him from hitting the jagged rocks only feet below him.

Struggling to remain in the air, he moved closer to the shore until he was above the white sand. Letting his eyes go red again, he only felt more pain before his body plummeted to the grainy earth. Gritting his teeth, he gripped his sides and curled up, letting a hoarse cry rip through his throat as more searing pain coursed through his veins.

What was happening to him?

xxxxxxx

_"You and Naruto are both demons!" the shouting continued._

xxxxxxx

"Sasuke, you've stumbled into dangerous territory," a deep voice spoke.

Eyes snapped open, the red complely gone.

"K-Kakashi-sensei..." the guardian grit out, body trembling on the ground.

A silver-haired man stood above the shaking form, dark eyes staring from above the edge of a blue cloth that covered half of his face. Gray wings expanded from his broad shoulders, shielding the pained male from the bright light of the setting sun. There was a crinkled frown beneath the navy mask.

"I can only do this once before Kyuubi-sama catches wind, so make sure nothing like this happens again," was the warning the other winged man gave before turning in the other direction, where shouting was coming from.

Beyond baby mangroves, Sakura and Naruto came running, both out of breath and covered in a light shean of sweat.

"H-Hogosha-san!" Naruto called out frantically, as if he'd lost the most important thing to him. He was turning his head in all different directions, his voice shaky as he repeated the nick name of his guardian spirit.

Kakashi continued to peer down at Sasuke without doing anything.

"You know my ability very well," he said. "You contain the Sharingan that stops time, while I contain the Sharingan that erases it. You should know what happens next."

Sasuke didn't speak, hot fire still pulsing throughout his body. He groaned loudly, attracting Sakura's attention in the distance. He could hear their shouting get louder, before it seemed to be only a couple yards away. They could see him, he was sure of it.

"S-Sensei..." his voice cracked. "Not the boy... He's my..."

"I know," Kakashi answered his pupil sternly. "I know exactly who he is."

The silver-haired man stepped forward, then he disappeared.

A sudden shock of severe pain sent Sasuke reeling and he couldn't help but cry out.

"There he is!"

"Hogosha-kun!" he heard Sakura call out to him, then heard the familiar sound of his teacher's ability being put to use. A high-pitched ringing.

He closed his eyes tightly, his teeth gnashing together.

"Who-who are you?" Sasuke heard Naruto's frantic voice. "What are you doing to her-"

Sakura's high-pitched scream filled the air before there was the loud thump of something hitting the firm sand of the shore.

Silence filled the air, only broken by the blond's quiet and wavering voice.

"Sakura...? Sakura-chan... SAKURA!"

**1. Hogosha is the Japanese word for guardian, in the protector sense.**

**Hoped you liked this chapter! Please review!**


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